Michael Card
Experienced Fractional Chief Technology Officer (CTO), solutions architect, and .NET developer with a strong background in leading technical strategy and building robust, scalable applications across diverse industries.
Chief Technology Officer
Solutions Architect
C# Developer
Project Manager
A Bit About Me
An experienced and results-driven Chief Technology Officer (CTO) with over a decade of technical leadership and 15 years of experience in various technology roles.
My mission is to drive innovation by aligning technology with business goals, delivering scalable solutions that enhance user experiences and business outcomes while fostering agile, empowered teams. I have a proven track record of securing funding, including $10M for Spa Space Inc. through a scalable technology strategy, and delivering measurable results such as 300% deployment efficiency with CI/CD pipelines, 25% code quality improvement through rigorous assurance practices, and 300% SEO footprint growth by launching an optimized MVP for Holiday Caravans Direct.
Specialising in leveraging cutting-edge technologies like cloud-native architecture (Azure, Kubernetes), microservices, and CI/CD pipelines, I excel in technology roadmapping, stakeholder engagement, and team building. With expertise in integrations such as Stripe, Auth0, and SendBird, I consistently deliver high-performance solutions that balance business value, risk management, and scalability.
Spa Space Inc
Chief Technology Officer
From:
Feb
2022
Led the development of a wellness marketplace platform across multiple agency engagements, focusing on microservices architecture, scalability, and Azure-based deployment.
Architected and implemented microservices on Azure Kubernetes with Terraform, streamlining deployment and scalability.
Integrated key third-party services (Stripe, SendGrid, HubSpot CRM) to enhance platform functionality.
Improved code quality by 25% through rigorous code reviews and quality assurance processes.
Reduced deployment times by 10% with optimised CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure as code.
Mentored multiple development teams, boosting productivity and aligning projects with strategic goals.
Fractional Consultancy Services
Technical Consultant
From:
Feb
2020
Provided full-stack development and consulting services, modernising legacy systems and implementing scalable architectures across diverse client projects.
Migrated legacy platforms to modern technologies (Vue.js, Kubernetes), enhancing performance and system flexibility.
Developed and integrated microservices, enabling seamless third-party integrations and scalability.
Led VB6-to-modern platform migrations, using MongoDB for efficient data management.
Guided clients through Agile processes, ensuring successful project outcomes and delivering tailored solutions.
Mentored teams on best practices, advancing their proficiency with current technologies.
Holiday Caravans Direct Ltd
PRINCIPLE DEVELOPER AND SOLUTIONS ARCHITECT
From:
Aug
2019
Lead developer and architect at Holiday Caravans Direct Ltd, guiding technical strategy, managing SCRUM processes, and overseeing the transition to a microservice architecture.
Delivered a complete rebuild of the company’s holiday rental platform as a solo developer, covering front end, back end, and infrastructure
Designed and implemented a bespoke booking engine capable of handling complex seasonal pricing, manual overrides, and both online and offline reservations
Built a responsive, component-based front end using Vue.js, replacing legacy jQuery and Knockout code incrementally without disrupting service
Introduced a two-step calendar model (availability + pricing) to improve performance and reduce API load
Created a modular, scalable architecture with service wrappers over legacy systems, enabling phased migration
Acted as product owner and technical lead, working directly with non-technical stakeholders to prioritise features and align with business goals
Embedded agile practices within the organisation and supported SCRUM adoption across the management team
Structured the system for future handover, including clean separation of concerns, documentation, and an onboarding-ready codebase
Activus LTD
Contract full stack developer
From:
Jul
2016
Modernised a legacy VB6 Windows Forms application into a scalable ASP.NET MVC web platform, delivering full-stack solutions while mentoring the internal team through their transition to web development.
Architected and delivered a transitional ASP.NET MVC framework to incrementally replace a large legacy VB6 Windows Forms system.
Introduced Bootstrap and a custom jQuery control layer to replicate complex UI behaviours such as drag-and-drop within a web environment.
Led team-wide adoption of modern web development practices through mentoring and ad hoc training sessions on MVC, REST, and state management.
Delivered scalable, maintainable solutions across the full stack, from SQL and API layers through to responsive Razor views.
Played a key leadership role without formal authority, becoming a trusted technical advisor within the team and shaping long-term architectural direction.
JLT Development
SENIOR C# DEVELOPER
From:
Oct
2014
Partnered with JLT to deliver enterprise-grade benefits software, focusing on white-labelling architecture, BDD practices, and agile team mentoring.
Architected and delivered a scalable white-labelling solution for the BenPal benefits portal, enabling bespoke branding, logic, and document workflows for enterprise clients.
Implemented BDD practices using SpecFlow, producing executable specifications that improved delivery confidence, cross-team alignment, and test coverage.
Designed and integrated a StreamServe document generation process using BizTalk, significantly improving the platform’s automated reporting and communication capabilities.
Collaborated with offshore teams to deliver a data warehousing solution leveraging Change Data Capture (CDC) for efficient, real-time analytics and compliance reporting.
Operated within a mature Scrum environment, contributing to a culture of engineering discipline through active mentoring, internal training, and interview support.
Gained deep experience in .NET MVC, WCF, MySQL, and enterprise integration patterns, while refining leadership skills in both technical design and delivery.
Lyons Davidson
SENIOR C# DEVELOPER
From:
Oct
2013
Modernised and modularised Silverlight and MVC applications, introducing shared frameworks and componentised architecture to reduce duplication and support long-term scalability.
Introduced shared authentication and authorisation libraries across Silverlight applications, improving code consistency and reusability.
Developed a reflection-based database access framework, reducing class duplication by up to 70%.
Advocated modular architecture within a legacy tech stack (VB6, Silverlight, ASP.NET MVC).
Gained first-hand experience in internal developer tooling and framework abstraction.
Applied SOLID principles to simplify maintenance and enhance developer experience.
Learned key lessons in change management and communication by balancing innovation with team alignment.
Brightside IT
C# DEVELOPER
From:
Oct
2011
Supported digital transformation efforts by modernising legacy systems, implementing scalable architecture patterns, and improving test automation through distributed solutions.
Introduced object-oriented principles into a legacy procedural PHP codebase, improving code structure, reusability, and long-term maintainability.
Designed and implemented a phased front-end migration from PHP to ASP.NET MVC, enabling gradual modernisation without full rewrites or downtime.
Built a distributed QTP test automation platform using microservice concepts, reducing test execution time and introducing early scalable architecture practices.
Restructured solution architecture through consistent use of namespaces, improving modular clarity and development efficiency.
Navigated and mitigated severe technical debt, including optimising unmanageable legacy VB6 modules with practical workarounds.
Gained early experience in architectural thinking, balancing business continuity with long-term system evolution.
Demonstrated initiative and leadership, driving technical improvements while still in a placement/graduate role.
Testimonials
Lavina Chhabra
Michael's knowledge is vast. I worked with him for a short period of time and found his inputs on front-end, UI, and UX insightful. He quickly became a part of the management team and took ownership of the functionalities related to the product. He challenged the UX of the product, which led to revamping it and improving its overall performance.
Chad Priest
Michael doesn't just tackle challenges; he approaches them with a no-nonsense attitude, cutting through complexities with a level of precision that's truly impressive. His ability to break down intricate problems and come up with elegant solutions is not only commendable but also a testament to his exceptional problem-solving skills.
Richard Gaskin
working with Michael was an absolute pleasure he was the border between the developers and the business and always managed to handle both sides expectations and took the stress of the business on to himself to give the developers enough room to do amazing work. a great developer as well
always a laugh, great personality, light hearted and I would definitely work with him again at a moment's notice.